A 15-year-old student at Christopher Columbus High School was slashed in the back after a fight between two groups of high school students waiting for a train at the Morris Park No. 5 subway station.
The teenager — who has transported to Jacobi Medical Center with minor injuries —was waiting with a group of friends for the train at around 3 p.m April 9 when a shouting match started between his group and another group of students from a rival school, 49th Precinct commanding officer, Deputy Inspector Lorenzo “Andy” Johnson, said of the ongoing investigation.
The fight turned physical, and at some point one of the teenagers whipped out a sharp object and slashed the 15-year-old victim “lightly in the back,” said Johnson.
Searching for clues
Police at the 49th said they have yet to apprehend a subject in the stabbing, but are investigating, with the help of Transit District 12 —which polices the platform— and staff at both of the schools where the brawling teenagers are students.
Cops at the NYPD Intel Division are also surveying social media for clues, said Johnson.
Kid-on-kid fight spike?
Violence in a Morris Park train station is rare, he added, but the precinct has seen some spats between groups of young people in recent months.
“Unfortunately we’re seeing too much of younger kid-on-kid violence,” said Johnson.
On Feb. 19, police arrested an 18-year-old after a fight between two groups of teenagers bubbled over into gun violence on a commercial stretch of Van Nest Avenue.
That incident resulted in a 79-year-old woman being hit with a stray bullet and transported to a nearby hospital, where she made a full recovery.
Not a random act
Police officers at the 49th Precinct stressed that locals should not be concerned about using the platform in the future.
The incident was isolated, police officers say — and the precinct as a whole boasted the lowest violent crime rate in the city in 2013.
“Without a doubt, this was not a random act,” said Johnson. “These were a bunch of kids who had an agenda. New York City Transit is the safest it’s been in 10 years.”
